Good Science Times today..
Jun. 21st, 2005 08:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lsandersonThe Claim: Mosquitoes Attack Some People More Than Others
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
"THE FACTS They're the unwanted guests that return every summer. They show up in droves, descending to feast on limbs and provoke fits of swatting and spraying. Mosquitoes will attack anything with a pulse, but why is it that some people seem more likely to become a target than others?"
Some Politics May Be Etched in the Genes
By BENEDICT CAREY
"Political scientists have long held that people's upbringing and experience determine their political views. A child raised on peace protests and Bush-loathing generally tracks left as an adult, unless derailed by some powerful life experience. One reared on tax protests and a hatred of Kennedys usually lists to the right.
"But on the basis of a new study, a team of political scientists is arguing that people's gut-level reaction to issues like the death penalty, taxes and abortion is strongly influenced by genetic inheritance. The new research builds on a series of studies that indicate that people's general approach to social issues - more conservative or more progressive - is influenced by genes."
What's in That Face? A Candidate's Future
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
"Even though voters often cite competence as a political candidate's most desirable quality, their decisions about which candidates are competent and which are not can rest on as little as a quick glance at a photograph, researchers are reporting."
A Night for Moongazers
"People who enjoy gazing at the Moon are in for a special treat Wednesday. The Moon will be full that night, which is only a day after the summer solstice.
"As a NASA scientist, Dr. Tony Phillips, points out at nasa.gov, this means that the full Moon will be lower in the sky than it has been any time since 1987. (At the solstice, the Sun is higher in the sky than any time else, and since the full Moon is on the opposite side of the sky, at the solstice it is at its lowest.)
"The lower the full Moon, the bigger it appears to the eye. It's just an illusion, of course, but it should make for some oohs and ahhs. Moonrise in the New York area is about 9:45."
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
"THE FACTS They're the unwanted guests that return every summer. They show up in droves, descending to feast on limbs and provoke fits of swatting and spraying. Mosquitoes will attack anything with a pulse, but why is it that some people seem more likely to become a target than others?"
Some Politics May Be Etched in the Genes
By BENEDICT CAREY
"Political scientists have long held that people's upbringing and experience determine their political views. A child raised on peace protests and Bush-loathing generally tracks left as an adult, unless derailed by some powerful life experience. One reared on tax protests and a hatred of Kennedys usually lists to the right.
"But on the basis of a new study, a team of political scientists is arguing that people's gut-level reaction to issues like the death penalty, taxes and abortion is strongly influenced by genetic inheritance. The new research builds on a series of studies that indicate that people's general approach to social issues - more conservative or more progressive - is influenced by genes."
What's in That Face? A Candidate's Future
By NICHOLAS BAKALAR
"Even though voters often cite competence as a political candidate's most desirable quality, their decisions about which candidates are competent and which are not can rest on as little as a quick glance at a photograph, researchers are reporting."
A Night for Moongazers
"People who enjoy gazing at the Moon are in for a special treat Wednesday. The Moon will be full that night, which is only a day after the summer solstice.
"As a NASA scientist, Dr. Tony Phillips, points out at nasa.gov, this means that the full Moon will be lower in the sky than it has been any time since 1987. (At the solstice, the Sun is higher in the sky than any time else, and since the full Moon is on the opposite side of the sky, at the solstice it is at its lowest.)
"The lower the full Moon, the bigger it appears to the eye. It's just an illusion, of course, but it should make for some oohs and ahhs. Moonrise in the New York area is about 9:45."
